This is not a great artistic video or anything — just a little slice of life from down here in Queenstown. There is this little walkway that goes along the lake, and oftentimes there are various sorts of entertainers around. I thought this scene was kind of nice. I quickly grabbed it with Google Glass. If you see the strange artifacting, that is because I tried some of the YouTube auto-filters.

Top 10 In Pinterest

I was the only Manly Man to make this list, somehow! There are some other good people on the list too that you may want to follow. That #3 Tiffany Beveridge cracks me up too! Worth a look!

Daily Photo – Off the Edge at Midnight

I stayed at these falls for way too long. In fact, I stayed way past midnight. That is when the moonlight got really strange and gave everything a bit of a bluish, Star-Trek-set glow that I thought was lovely and mysterious. I swapped around lens after lens to try different things. For this one, I put on a bit of a tighter lens and went for a portrait orientation to show more of the trailing beach…

Sometimes, you can use ND Filters in the middle of the day to get long exposures. This shot below wasn’t exactly the middle of the day, but it was pretty bright outside. For those of you that aren’t familiar with this ND thing, it stands for Neutral Density, and it is basically a dark filter on the front of the lens that limits the amount oaf light that comes into the camera. This means you can have the shutter open longer to get things like streaks in water. Anyway, you can get around that a bit by just setting your fstop as high as it will go, like f/22 or higher, for example. This will let you make your shutter speed longer and get a bit of the streaky effect.

Daily Photo – The Island Cave

This photo was only 0.8 seconds long, even though it looks like a bit longer. When the waves are coming in at a good click, you don’t need a super-long exposure to get this effect. You do need a tripod, though. I think it’s impossible for a human to hold the camera still for 0.8 seconds! This is down on one of the many beaches in Big Sur, California

Full on SmugMug Review

For more and to see the latest, see the full SmugMug Review here on the site. It’s changed a LOT since this video was made below… when they show my site, they show the OLD version of the site… it’s so much better now.

Embarrassing moment at the Google party

You know how when you are at a party with people you don’t want to embarrass yourself? I mean, like often, this is the #1 goal of being at a party, especially if you are an introvert like me? Well here is what happened when I tried to pass some appetizers to Ron Conway and he ignored me.

All in all, this is a very strange video. The dance part is cool though! As for the dancers, they are the YouTube stars: Poreotics and Karen X. Cheng (she taught herself to dance in a year!).

Daily Photo – The Trees Behind Big Sur

There is another way to get to Big Sur that I found only because part of Highway 1 was shut down. It goes through a huge military base that is filled some very cool trees. It’s also incredibly lonely because no one ever goes that way. When I would tramp out here to get photos, I was always afraid there might be a few land mines here and there… probably not, but still, that little shadow of doubt was more than enough!

Have you ever found a place that is very close to you, or very close to a place you know well — and you were completely surprised when you found it? I get this feeling a lot… often thinking, “How did I not know this existed!?!?”

Daily Photo – The McWay Bay

This spot is well known to people that photograph the Big Sur region a lot, but it remained unknown to me for a very long time! Even though I have shot in the Big Sur area many times, this spot always eluded me. Not until Stuck On Earth did I actually discover something that was so close to the road, but otherwise impossible to know about except through friends! So, when I parked and started the short walk, you can imagine how excited I was to find such a panacea of photographer right under my nose!

Why is saffron so expensive? And/or do you know an inexpensive place that sells and ships internationally?

Daily Photo – Hiking to the beach in Big Sur

I wanted to go down to that beach you see in the distance, so I began the long hike. It wasn’t the length as much as the steepness and confusion involved. Whenever I look at a landscape and try to figure out a way to get from point A to point B, it always looks easier than it actually turns out to be. In this case, all that green seems quite easy to traverse, but it is really hip-hike bushes full of thorns! But, I did eventually navigate all of them and make it down for an amazing time on the beach.

This was such a fun show that I wanted to repost it! I also added it to the full SmugMug Review here on the site.

Daily Photo – Aliens over Big Sur

I went out one night to see the meteors go crazy, but it turned out to be a little bit weak on the meteor part. And then the most interesting thing would be when cars would crest over the hill to come towards me.

I was wondering… if someone from a few thousand years ago were to be transported in time to be standing there with me — would they have any concept of the car being driven by a human, or would they just think it is an alien ship? I mean, if they could not see inside (it was dark) — would people have any idea that the car was a human-created and powered-device, or would that notion not even enter their heads?

It’s hard to believe this video is from the same moody beach that is in today’s photo. Of course… it is a different day when I took this photo… about two years later in fact! Another version of this video is also in the newly updated SmugMug Review here on the site.

Daily Photo – Walking on the beach

It was a cold and blustery evening here on the beach in Big Sur. Every time I go to this beach, it is a little bit different. There are some trees upon entrance to this beach that are also fascinating. You’ll notice I’ve never posted a photo of them because I simply can’t find how to capture their essence in a photo… but I’ll keep working on that…

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Watch the show that went live last night here on the blog. She joined us to talk about it!

Daily Photo – The Golden Seaspray

It’s fun to take photos of waves exploding on rocks. You never know what you’re gonna get, so it’s a good idea just to take a ton of photos. I must have taken 50 or 60 to get this one. It’s a lot of guesswork involved!

In cases like this, maybe I could have done even better with the Sony NEX-7 instead of the D800. The thing is that I could have hit that 10 FPS, and it would have come in very handy! One of the main problems with the NEX-7 would NOT have reared its ugly head here — the buffering. You can get enough shots when the wave hits and then just wait for the buffering to catch up while waiting on the next wave!

I was able to use Stuck On Earth to find a lot of great places in Big Sur! By the way, don’t forget that you can now get it for iPad AND Android. We are glad that so many people are enjoying it! Anyway, don’t forget that one cool feature that lets you download all the photos in a given area and add them to a new trip. This came in handy here… I just kind of vacuumed up all the good spots into a “Big Sur Trip” with a single click!

Daily Photo – The Mighty Trees at Glen Oaks Big Sur

Here’s another photo from that amazing place I stayed in Big Sur. It’s called the Glen Oaks, so be sure to take a look at this place when planning a trip to the area!

It’s fun to take photos of these huge trees. The difficult thing is getting a sense of scale. So it’s good to use things in the photo like humans or houses to give everything a sense of perspective. This trick also works with caves or anything that is impressively huge in real life.

Pinterest is another huge success for you, but is there any reason for non-visual businesses to engage with it?

TREY: Pinterest is awesome. I think I have about five million followers there and it is 90% women. Women connect the world and make it work! I know this because I was raised by my mom and sister… so I am sensitive to these things, you see. Anyway, even if, as you say, someone has a “non-visual business”, then they should still use Pinterest to build a brand around people and passions associated with the product or service. Let’s say for example, err… maybe a non-visual-business is something like… errr… let me see here, thinking out loud… well it’s hard to think of one… okay how about an accounting firm. I can’t think of anything more boring or non-visual than that. You could post photos of things that people in the accounting firm are passionate about… and you can build a personal connection that way. Let’s say that Steve, who is an expert in Irish Intellectual Property Tax Law is really into collecting steampunk stuff. Well he could pin a lot of steampunk gizmos. And Sally, who is a real killer when it comes to Inheritance Law in the Isle of Man is into candle-making. She can pin a lot of pretty candles and nonsense like that into the firm’s Pinterest with her own little personal note. That will give the accounting firm more of a human face and a bit more personality.

Daily Photo – The Pink Sea Spray at Sunset

Behind this exploding wave at Big Sur is something that I have never seen before. Why didn’t I take a photo of it? It’s because taking a good photo of a pod of whales from the beach is almost impossible! At least, it appears to be impossible for me. I’ve never seen whales so close into the beach. Maybe it happens all the time around there, but I was quite surprised. Have you ever seen a pod of whales from the beach?

This will be a fun event! Thanks to the NZIPP for setting it all up. There is limited space, so please contact photography@emilyadamson.com to hold a spot for you. Here is more info below:

Beautiful hidden gem in Big Sur

I bet most people drive by this place at 60 MPH and never notice – but they should! I ended up staying here a few nights recently while I was taking photos all around the area. It’s a perfect homebase for all the hotspots in the area. Plus, the rooms are really nice, comfy, and swanky… I took a bunch of other photos I’ll share soon, but you can also see some good ones at their website. One of the photos is below: the Forest View cabin.

Daily Photo – The Cabin in the Forest at the Glen Oaks Big Sur

These trees are huge! I’ve visited these huge redwoods along the coast of California many times, and I don’t think I could ever get used to how gigantic they really are. It’s almost like an alien planet!

The cabin there is one of the many varied rooms at the Glen Oaks. They are all different, but each one is nicely appointed. I’m recommending this place to my friends who are looking for awesome lodgings in the Big Sur area!